16 Feb 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:20 – 09:10
The Flash:  09:15 – 10:00

7.0°C > 9.0°C:  Mostly clear and bright. Light S wind. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 07:25 GMT

Great Crested Grebes noted at both locations today

Priorslee Lake:  06:20 – 09:10

(44th visit of the year)

Bird species added to my 2019 log from here
62      Skylark
Made it on the list today as I both heard and saw a bird singing over the fields to the E while I was on the dam-top

Bird notes
- no Mute Swans again – and no Gadwall found either
- I flushed a Grey Heron off the dam at 06:35: perhaps a different bird seen later
- a Sparrowhawk shot through the trees scattering the tits: seemed not to catch anything
- only 26 Black-headed Gulls arrived at 06:44. No more than 20 more arrived before they all left by 07:15. There were 55 on the water by 08:20. How many different birds?
- of the 57 Wood Pigeons overhead there were 5 groups of 7 birds – odd
- corvids in very high numbers with >825 Jackdaws and >30 Rooks all by 06:50

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 2 Greylag Geese (singles outbound)
- 15 Canada Geese (3 groups outbound)
- 2 Cormorants
- 48 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Stock Dove again
- 57 Wood Pigeons
- >800 Jackdaws
- >32 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 5 Goldfinches

Birds recorded leaving roosts around the lake
- 6 Reed Buntings

The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese (arrived)
- 4 (2♂) Mallard only
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant again
- 1 (2?) Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 12 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- >55 Black-headed Gulls only
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull

The lamp poles were disappointing again after the mild night – too clear?
- 2 Nursery Web Spiders
later sunning on a lamp pole
- 1 Bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoria)

Less cloud than forecast but a very mild night – 7°C at 06:30. Enough cloud to prevent a decent sunrise.

Well it was a VERY long way away and high up but it was my first this year here – a Skylark in song.

Never an easy species to approach to photograph but some ‘stealth walking’ gave me an opportunity for this Jay.

The blue and black checkered feathers in the wing are amazing. I wonder why they are like this?

Another species not easy to approach. I got one shot of this Redwing and it was gone.

A handsome Greenfinch. With yellow on the bend of the wing as well as yellow-edging to the primaries this seems to be a male even though it lacks the strong black mask around the eye of a bird in full breeding plumage.

Here it is ‘singing’ – the long wheezy version. There is another song, often given in display flight, that is much more varied and musical.

Enlarged there is a hint of the black mask and the green tone of the chest is too bright for a female.

With the sun out flies appeared on the lamps to sun themselves. This seems to be a Bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoria). The shape of the veins in the wings rule out any of the Muscid flies and Tachina fera – the other common large fly – has rufous sides and should not be on the wing until April.

After Blackthorn at Trench earlier in the week the mild weather prompted the first flowers here.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:15 – 10:00

(39th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- puzzling why the sex composition of the Tufted Duck changed so much since yesterday – then 23 of the were 48 drakes (so 25 ducks): today 33 of the 54 were drakes (so 21 ducks). My maths says 10 drakes arrived and 4 ducks left. Odd
- only my second sighting of a Grey Heron here this month
- so where did the Great Crested Grebe go yesterday? [late note: I have been sent a photo of one taken here yesterday so it must have been lurking somewhere ... thanks Glyn]

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall still
- 36 (22♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler still
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 54 (33♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant yet again
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 4 Moorhens again
- 31 Coots
- 43 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

Notes
1. Update on ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull seen on 13 Feb 19 Here.- 'I have been sent details of the ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull at Trench. It is full adult and this year will see its 8th birthday. In summary it was evidently born in 2011 and ringed in February 2012 in the port of Málaga, Spain (in its 2nd calendar year). In July 2012 it was seen in Norfolk. In February 2013 it was seen several times around Madrid city. In May 2013 it was seen in Leicestershire. Where it has been since then is a mystery. It is interesting that such an old bird shows so much black on its bill: all my bird books show only red on the bill after the third winter.'

2. A few photos from Belvide on 10 Feb Here.

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On this day..........

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
8 Pochard
(Tony Beckett)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
4 Gadwall
44 Pochard
55 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
151 Coots 
12 Siskins
2 Redpoll
23 Linnets
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
3rd winter Glaucous Gull
1st winter Glaucous Gull
(Paul King)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
3 Cormorants
2 Gadwall
8 Pochard
26 Tufted Ducks
118 Coots
2 Lapwing
c.1200 Black-backed Gulls
c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
55 Herring Gulls
c.574 Wood Pigeons
220 Jackdaws
199 Rooks
1 Sky Lark
11 Pied Wagtails
20 Robins
19 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
2 Redwings
1 House Sparrow
10 Greenfinches
7 Siskins
16 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)